Got’a love a good liar – might even love the lie!
We are fascinated by deception. We love magic shows, where we collude with the conjuror. We may not know what is going to happen, but we are sure that something will. As often as James Randi and Penn and Teller reveal the man behind the curtain, we willingly suspend our disbelief.
But there is a point where misdirection elides into fraud, a point where the crowd is taken in and our readiness to believe in outlandish stories takes us into dangerous territory.
Dr Madeleine Pelling takes us to the Age of Enlightenment to investigate the phenomenon, with a survey of credulity and gullibility, focussing in on three marvellous case studies: The Ghost of Cock Lane, The Witch of Yorkshire, and the remarkable story of Princess Caraboo.
Each reveals a network of interests and advantage that fed upon an expedient falsehood and turned it into tragedy. But does the larger part of culpability lie with the perpetrator or the dupe.
Madeleine Pelling – Profile – £22.00
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